§ Mr. FENBYasked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that the exemption orders applied for last year under Section 10 (5) of The Finance Act, 1926, in respect of cocaine and cocaine hydrochloride, being products liable to duty under Part I. of The Safeguarding of Industries Act, 1921, have not yet been issued; that his department are refusing to issue these exemption orders although the products in question are still not made in His Majesty's Dominions; and that, in consequence, hospitals and the general medical service, who are the chief consumers of these products, which have to be imported, are compelled to pay considerably more than would otherwise be the case; will he take steps to issue the exemption orders in question forthwith; and, if not, what further period of time does he propose to allow in respect of the products in question?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERBefore I can make any recommendation to the Treasury under Section 10 (5) of The Finance Act, 1926, to exempt any article from duty, I must be satisfied that there is no reasonable probability that the article will be made in His Majesty's Dominions in substantial quantities within a reasonable period. Preparations for the manufacture of these materials in this country are well advanced, and I do not propose to make any recommendations to the Treasury on the subject at present.